A Turtle’s Life For Me, Please ~

Ever wonder why turtles live so long? They move slowly. They don’t have to chase their food (the majority of them are herbivores). And with their nice, hard shells, most predators don’t bother with them. There is no need for turtles to try to run away. They simply move at their own pace. I want to live like that. don’t you? This plugged-in, fast-paced, go-go-go life is not what I ordered! A turtle’s life for me, please.

I found a beautiful poem about slowing down from the book, Graces, by June Cotner. I have decided it is something I shall read to myself at least once a week. There is such wisdom here. I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy!

Slow me down, Lord.
Ease the pounding of my heart
By the quieting of my mind.
Steady my harried pace
With a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me,
Amidst the confusions of my day,
The calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves
With the soothing music of the singing streams
That live in my memory.
Help me to know
The magical power of sleep.
Teach me the art
Of taking minute vacations of slowing down
to look at a flower;
to chat with an old friend or make a new one;
to pat a stray dog;
to watch a spider build a web;
to smile at a child;
or read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day
That the race is not always to the swift;
That there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak
And know that it grew great and strong
Because it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord.
And inspire me to send my roots deep
Into the soil of life’s enduring values
That I may grow toward the stars
Of my greater destiny.